Schools of salt water and fresh water fish will settle at various depths in the water depending on factors such as temperature, food availability, light levels, and the like. When trolling, it is of course necessary to adjust the depth of the fishing lure or bait so that it comes into close proximity with the school of fish under a given set of conditions. The prior art approach to solving this problem was to apply a varying amount of lead or other weight to the fishing line or to a height adjusting mechanism or to use different sizes of height adjusting mechanisms in order to achieve the desired depth for the hook.